April 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 33
Relevance:
1. the quality or state of being closely connected or
appropriate.
a. " This film has contemporary relevance. "
teaching students in which they (a) experience academic success; (b) develop
and/or maintain cultural competence;
and (c) develop a critical consciousness.
Dr. Billings found that integrating cultural awareness into the classroom allowed
students to relate course content to their
cultural context and, in turn, better understand what was being taught.
A park or park agency is considered culturally relevant, if " what " it
does and " how " it does it is relevant
to diverse audiences. The " what " can
encompass programming, advocacy,
curriculum or any of the substantive
mission-driven pieces of an agency's
work. The " how " is its approach to the
work, who it involves in its efforts, the
language it uses, its partnerships and
its messaging. In other words, cultural relevance in parks is achieved when
all Americans can establish a personal connection to the park and/or park
programs, and find meaning and value
in the experience because it relates to
them in a way that helps them better
understand what is being offered.
engage new audiences, but one example that is particularly relevant comes
from the Kansas City Parks and Recreation, which used a unique place-based
story to engage new audiences.
How Does This Relate to Public Lands?
In an article, titled " Public Lands
Should Be Challenged with Equity of
Access for All, " in the January 2017 issue of The Hill, Jose Gonzalez, founder of Latino Outdoors, is quoted as
saying: " We need to explore what the
ideas of wilderness, protected spaces,
and open spaces mean to diverse communities. " There are many notable examples of parks using storytelling to
local African-American
Watermelon Hill
Swope Park, a 1,805-acre park in Kansas City, Missouri - the city's largest
park and one of the largest urban parks
in the United States - was segregated
until the mid-1950s. Prior to desegregation, only one picnic shelter, a spot called
" Watermelon Hill, " was available to Af-
Kansas City Parks decided
to embrace the history
of Watermelon Hill and
host a communityengagement event,
designed to educate
newer residents about
history.
rican-Americans visiting the park. The
late Joelouis Mattox, a local historian
and former columnist, helped bring the
history of Watermelon Hill to light in a
lecture he presented at a local community center about the history of Watermelon Hill in Swope Park.
" When I moved to Kansas City, "
Mattox says, " Swope Park was already
open to everyone and free of segregation. But, Watermelon Hill still existed. Everyone felt comfortable there.
Church groups and other organizations
would have their picnics there. Families would go there. Black people created that name for Shelter No. 5 because
people in our community who did use
the shelter [would] bring watermelons
with them when they had picnics in
the park. " Fifty-pound ice blocks in
washtubs kept the melons cold. And,
there were watermelon-eating contests.
Watermelon Hill was a " get-away
place " for the black community.
When researching the story of the
segregated shelter for his lecture, Mattox discovered that black men and
women older than about 50 knew exactly what he was talking about. Most
new residents, however, had never even
heard of it.
Kansas City Parks decided to embrace
the history of Watermelon Hill and host
a community-engagement event, designed to educate newer residents about
local African-American history. The department took the unflattering history of
segregation at Swope Park and used that
story to engage new audiences by making the park culturally and historically
relevant to a wider range of audiences.
Using the story of Watermelon Hill as
the focus of the event allowed participants to relate the educational content
being offered by the parks department to
their unique cultural context.
Today, Watermelon Hill is known as a
mythical place that connects the past to
the present. Other park and rec departments can use this example to share their
own stories to engage new park attendees and increase diversity and inclusion
on public lands.
Roland Richardson is NRPA's Conservation
Program Manager (rrichardson@nrpa.org).
W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | A P R I L 2 0 1 8 |
Parks & Recreation
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April 2018 - Parks & Recreation
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2018 - Parks & Recreation
April 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 1
April 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 2
April 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 3
April 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 4
April 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 5
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2020
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2019
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